Table for Two, Dinner for One

"It's a beautiful night for falling in love."

Writer: Jennah Dean

Format: Audio

Released: February 2023

Series: Short Trips 12.05

Featuring: Tenth Doctor

Synopsis

Good evening, Madames and Monsieurs. Welcome to the Ristorante del Cosmo, the finest restaurant in all of London. It's so good, in fact, we think you'll never want to leave...

Verdict

Table for Two, Dinner for One was a great story to continue my way through the twelfth series of Short Trips! I was a little underwhelmed going into this story which is a bit of a shame really but I just didn't find it exciting to be listening to a solo Tenth Doctor adventure. I'm not sure if it's because this incarnation has so many stories and is surely the Doctor I have blogged the most stories for (although that would be something very fun to tally up!), but it just didn't seem the most bold or ambitious of choices to lead the story. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but I was also perhaps prejudice when it came to Ayesha Antoine as the narrator. That is absolutely nothing against her as an actor but I just did not know what kind of association she had to the Tenth Doctor. In this set we've had Jon Culshaw as the Brigadier for example and even Dan Starkey reading a Twelfth Doctor tale with whom he shared an on screen adventure. It's harsh but if this was to be read by David Tennant then I would have been super excited to get listening! The concept of the episode was really good though as my rating reflects and it made for a really enjoyable forty minutes. It absolutely whizzed by and that was partly down to Antoine's impressive narration. The story did the right thing in making use of its actor as despite this being a Tenth Doctor tale, it was Mandy who was the main character. Her life was in a difficult place as she went the pretty bold route of saying 'I love you too' first to Simon, before they were even officially a couple and before he hadn't actually said he loved her! She assumed he did from the looks they gave each other but then he went radio silent for two months. Talk about a kick in the teeth! The Doctor warning her before going into the Ristorante del Cosmo was intriguing and I was wondering what he was up to in warning her. I think it's quite amusing to picture him stuck outside of a restaurant and physically not being allowed in! That was definitely a picture that provided some comic value for me and the way he managed to communicate with Mandy was interesting. Considering this is a Short Trip adventure, it was a bit of a slow burner and that was tremendous. It built well and the pace was honestly perfect. The concept of time running slower within the restaurant was great and the use of that being seen through Simon texting he was going to be a bit late was fun, especially when he wasn't showing up. I mean, when he did show up it wasn't him at all and referring to him as Not-Simon gave me stark reminders of Wild Blue Yonder in how they were named, even if this was released earlier in the year it was broadcast. Mandy slowly realising that everything around her was a fake was done very well and she was surprisingly calm with the situation. The Doctor communicating with her was obviously helpful and the way the TARDIS emerged in as the Doctor finally broke through the barrier thanks to latching onto Mandy was great stuff. Once he was in the Lorn were as good as done and their luring was over. They wanted to feed on the menu that was their customers which was pretty ironic, but with the Doctor being a Time Lord they were allergic to him and he knew that going in. It was neat and efficient, but it was nice to get a little epilogue of sorts with Mandy getting to see inside the TARDIS. And she got a reply from Simon right at the end as well, the real article this time! I would be lying as well if I said I didn't check my phone on quite a few occasions as I was listening through the Big Finish app as that text tone is what I use for my WhatsApps! Overall though, a great listen! 

Rating: 8/10